Through Week 11 of the 2023 season, Rashee Rice sat at WR42. From Week 12 through Week 17, he was WR4 and shifted the results of many fantasy football leagues. We tasked our staff with finding rookies who could still break out over the second half of the 2024 season.
They came back with four players you need to keep an eye on. See them below.
Rookie Breakout: RB Trey Benson, Arizona
Andy Hicks - I still have faith that Benson will get significant usage as the season wears on. James Conner has only played more than 13 games twice in his seven-year career and has consistently missed at least two. Conner is towards the end of his career, while Benson is just starting. Benson has looked better in his last two appearances after a slow start. Arizona may find out what he can do.
Rookie Breakout: WR Ja'Lynn Polk, New England
Ryan Weisse - Ja'Lynn Polk could still do something this season. The Patriots spent an early second-round pick on Polk, and he is currently third in targets behind Demario Douglas and Hunter Henry. However, with Jacoby Brissett as the quarterback, there needed to be more good in the passing game. Drake Maye could change that.
In his first start, Maye threw for more passing yards than Brissett did in any single game and three touchdowns. The team had two total touchdown passes in their first five games. Polk had a quiet game, one catch on four targets, but things should start to improve with Maye. We should see a better game in Week 7, as the Patriots take on Jacksonville's porous pass defense.
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Rookie Breakout: RB Audric Estime, Denver
Jason Wood - Based on how you structured the question, Jeff, I will assume any rookie who has already had a big game doesn't count. So, players like Tyrone Tracy Jr. or Ray Davis wouldn't be eligible. Playing by those rules, I'll go with Estime.
Estime, a rookie out of Notre Dame, injured his ankle in Week 1 and was placed on Injured Reserve. He returned in Week 6 but only managed two carries for 14 yards. However, the Broncos are 3-3, with an elite (No. 4) defense and a struggling (No. 29) offense. We know head coach Sean Payton won't stop tinkering with such an underperforming offense.
Javonte Williams averages 3.6 yards per attempt, and Jaleel McLaughlin averages just 3.2 yards. Estime has the skill set, patience, and physicality to thrive in Payton's run scheme if given the opportunity. While it's not a guarantee, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Estime become the engine of the Broncos' offense in the second half of the season.
Corey Spala - Over six weeks, the rookies and their NFL teams have established themselves due to injuries (Bucky Irving, Ray Davis) or confirming prior notions of being top-tier prospects (Brock Bowers, Malik Nabers). Estime still has the potential to break out this season. Javonte Williams is inefficient. Williams has seen an increase in workload following Tyler Badie’s injured reserve designation; I believe this is because someone had to. Jason mentioned Williams’ low average yards and that he ranks 24th in the expected points added.
Estime returned from injury in Week 6 and opened up the second half as a running back. He has four carries for 26 yards on the season. This is not impressive, but head coach Sean Payton noted he would like Estime to have more work, stating, “I want to see [Audric] Estime.” Denver needs a competent run game, as Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin have not delivered. There is an opportunity for Estime to take the lead-back role as the season progresses. HC Payton is looking for a spark.
Rookie Breakout: RB Dylan Laube, Las Vegas
Jeff Bell - Forgive me for not understanding what the Raiders are doing with their backfield, as I do not believe they know either. At least he played in Week 6. With Davante Adams now gone, the offense will continue to look for production, and both Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah saw heavy involvement in the passing game in Week 6. Laube could easily be ignored if not for the persistent drumbeat about his playmaking in the passing game throughout the preseason and training camp. The Rams game in Week 7 could prove a turning point for the franchise. Lose that game and fall to 2-5 and seven of their next eight games are against teams with meaningful playoff aspirations. The coaching staff may trust Abdullah, but at 31 years old and in a lost season, they are doing themselves a disservice by not seeing what Laube has.